1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tape printing apparatus that is capable of printing one to a plurality of lines on a tape based on inputted data, and a data input processing method therefor.
2. Prior Art
Recently, a tape printing apparatus has been proposed which enables a user to edit and produce text data by operating a keyboard or the like while viewing a liquid crystal display, and performs printing on a tape based on the text data. In the tape printing apparatus of this kind, a maximum printable number of lines is determined based on the width of a print head or the width of a tape, and when the user produces text data in excess of the maximum printable number of lines, the user is notified of occurrence of an error. For example, assuming that the maximum number of lines determined based on the width of a tape is four, if four or more lines of text data are to be produced (if a new line start key is depressed four or more times), an error message is displayed on a display, or an alarm is issued to notify the user of occurrence of an error.
In the tape printing apparatus described above, however, it is impossible to input data in excess of the maximum of four lines, and hence on the display as well, text data is inhibited from being inputted in excess of four lines. Therefore, even if the user desires to input data only for editing purposes (e.g. for trial input) aside from inputting the data to a text data input area where data to be printed on a tape can be input (area for storing four lines, in the present case), the user cannot perform such entry of data since there is not provided any area for data input other than the text data input area.